Trip to Spain 2012 - Pre-trip document

TRIP TO SPAIN

March 28 – April 8, 2012

SAS Trip to Spain - of 12

INDEX Information package

March 19, 2012 1.- Flight information 2.- Accommodation 3.- Accommodation in Vitoria-Gasteiz – Host families 4.- Emergency numbers 5.- Sweaters 6.- Trip preparation 7.- Electronics 8.- Pocket money

9.- Passports + Safety

10.- Insurance

11.- Final list of students going on the trip

12.- Itinerary

iWeb of the Spanish trip ´12: http://iwebpx.saschina.org/javiercastro/2012_SAS_Puxi_Spanish_Trip/Welcome.html

Moodle page: http://sasoc.saschina.org/course/view.php?id=1351


1.- FLIGHT INFORMATION Air Company: Emirates Shanghai (China) – Dubai (United Arab Emirates) – Madrid (Spain) Wednesday March 28 – EK303: Pudong Airport (23:30) – Dubai (04:30+1) Thursday March 29 – EK141: Dubai (07:50) – Madrid (13:45) Duration (20h15’): EK303 (09h00´) + Stop-over (3h20´) + EK141 (7h55´) Madrid (Spain) – Dubai (United Arab Emirates) – Shanghai (China) Saturday April 7 – EK142: Madrid (15:25) – Dubai (00:40 + 1) Sunday April 8 – EK302: Dubai (03:10) – Pudong Airport (15:30) Duration (18h05’): EK142 (7h15´) + Stop-over (2h30´) + EK302 (8h20´) Departure – Meeting time: Wednesday March 28 at 21:00 Pudong Airport The flight departs at 23:30 on Wednesday night. For international flights we need to check in two hours before, so we will meet at 21:00 (09:00 p.m.) at Pudong Airport – Terminal 2, in front of Emirates check-in counter. The Emirates check-in counter is located at Terminal 2 Island E counter E09-E18 on the departure level. SAS does not provide transportation to the airport, we will meet there. Emirates allows 20 kilograms for check-in and 7 kilograms for carry-on for each person. Please don´t exceed that weight. If you are planning on bringing presents from Spain, count on saving some space in your luggage for the return trip. Please don’t forget your passports. Some students need to bring two kinds of ID, one to exit/re-enter China, one to enter/exit Spain. Please if you are not sure about this contact Sr. Castro. Double check with your parents what travel documents you need to carry before you leave your home. Arrival in Shanghai: Sunday April 8 at 3:30 p.m. Pudong Airport We will come back on Sunday April 8, at 15:30. Parents have to complete a form indicating the chaperones if:

- they will meet their child at the airport. - the child is authorized to take a taxi home unaccompanied. - the child will be picked up by a driver. - Other – to be specified on the form

You will receive this form through your kids this week.


Skywards Skywards is the Frequent Flier Program operated by Emirates Airline. Partner Airlines are: 1.- Continental Airlines 2.- Japan Airlines 3.- Jet Airways 4.- Kingfisher Airlines 5.- Korean Air 6.- South African Airways 7.- United Airlines 8.- Virgin Blue If your kid is enrolled in any of those programs and you would like him/her to collect the miles please ask the student to provide us with their Frequent Flyer number. 2.- ACCOMMODATION Wednesday March 28 : Shanghai - Meet at Pudong Aiport at 21:00 (09:00 p.m.) Thursday March 29 : Madrid - Arrival to Barajas Airport, Madrid (13:45) - Transfer to hotel by private bus - Check-in and lunch at the hotel Accommodation at ¨Hotel Convención (****)¨ (Madrid) http://www.hotel-convencion.com/ Tel. (+34) 91 221 40 60 / 91 574 68 00 Friday March 30 : Madrid – Vitoria-Gasteiz Friday March 30 Lunch at ¨Restaurante La Taurina¨ http://www.lataurina.com/ Friday March 30, Saturday March 31, Sunday April 1 : Vitoria-Gasteiz Accommodation at homes of relatives and friends of Sr. Castro. See point 3 of this document. Dinners + Breakfast with host families. Lunch with the group. Monday April 2 : Vitoria-Gasteiz – San Sebastián - Breakfast with host families


- Lunch in restaurant in Irún - Dinner at hostel. Accommodation at Albergue Ondarreta Paseo de Igeldo no. 25 20008 San Sebastián Telephone: +34 943 310 268 Fax: +34 943 214 090 http://www.donostialbergues.org Tuesday April 3 : San Sebastián – Bilbao – Quintana Martín Galíndez Tuesday April 3, Wednesday April 4 and Thursday April 5: Those three nights we will stay at Albergue Valle de Tobalina Hulu Ocio Aventura y Naturaleza, S.L. http://huluaventura.com/albergue-valle-de-tobalina/ I didn´t got the telephone of this hostel. In case of emergency please call directly Sr. Castro (see point 4) Friday April 6 : Quintana Martín Galíndez – Balmaseda – Lerma - Madrid Accommodation at ¨Hotel Convención (****)¨ (Madrid) http://www.hotel-convencion.com/ Tel. (+34) 91 221 40 60 / 91 574 68 00 Saturday April 7 : Madrid – Dubai – Shanghai - Breakfast at hotel - Last visit in Madrid - 12:30 Transfer from hotel to Madrid Airport - 15:25 Flight Madrid-Dubai-Shanghai Sunday April 8 – Shanghai - Arrival to Pudong Airport at 15:30 3.- ACCOMMODATION IN VITORIA-GASTEIZ In Vitoria-Gasteiz students will be hosted with friends and relatives of Sr. Castro. Students were giving the choice of staying individually with one family, but all of them preferred to be in groups of two or three. Students will have dinners and breakfasts with the host families. Lunch on Saturday and Sunday will be all students together. We have set a meeting point, and families will pick and drop students from the meeting point. Students will not have to walk alone in the city to the homes of the families.


The meeting point will be at the tourist office, that is located at ¨Plaza de España – Vitoria-Gasteiz¨. Down there you have the addresses of the families, so you could check in Google Maps where you will be hosted. This is where students will be hosted, and a brief description of the host family. FAMILY 1 – ROBERTO AND GINA Students: - Xin Sui - Kelley Roberto is a classmate from high school. He is married to Gina, a lady from Mexico. They don´t have kids... yet. Address: Mob. Roberto: Mob. Gina: FAMILY 2 – AITOR, RAQUEL E IMANOL Students: - Steph - Eva - Jocelyn Both Aitor and his partner Raquel are old friends. Aitor was my best friend since elementary school. I meet Raquel when we both studied in college in Bilbao. They have a little kid called Imanol. Address: Tel. (+34) Cel. Aitor (+34) Cel. Raquel (+34) FAMILY 3 – IÑIGO, SONIA AND PAULA Students: - Monica - Yi Ying Iñigo is my very fit brother (he is running the Barcelona marathon on March 25) His wife Sonia works at Zara, so she may help you out with your shopping if you want to buy anything there :-) Address: Tel. (+34) Cel. Iñigo (+34) Cel. Sonia (+34)


FAMILY 4 – MAITE Students: - Carolyn - Casey Maite is the only single person in the group, but students will share the house that weekend with his brother and two kids, one boy who is 10 years old, one girl who is 6. Address: Tel. (+34) Cel. (+34) FAMILY 5 – EDUARDO, ELISA AND IRATI Students: - Chloe - Monica Eduardo is my cousin. Elisa is his wife. Address: Tel. (+34) Cel. (+34) FAMILY 6 – DANI Y VERÓNICA Students: - Jeremy - Max Daniel is a very close friend of mine, and Verónica is his girlfriend. Address: Cel. Dani (+34) FAMILY 7 – EDU AND CONCHI Students: - Colin - Karson - Charlie Eduardo and Conchi are my uncle and aunt. Their daughters left the house long time ago, so they have enough space to host three students. Good –or bad thing-? They don´t speak any English, so you will need to practice Spanish if you want to eat! Address: Tel. (+34) Mob. Conchi (+34)


FAMILY 8 – JOSE LUIS Y PILI Chaperones: - Celia - Castro Yeap, we will be at my parents´ Address: Tel. (+34) PRESENTS FOR HOST FAMILIES Host families are hosting students because they want to do it, and they are very excited about this experience. They don´t charge any money for doing that. All students will receive some memorabilia from SAS to give to the host families as presents, on their behalf. If students want to give them any other present from China they are welcome, but in that case please NOTHING EXPENSIVE. 4.- EMERGENCY NUMBERS Telephones in Spain Time difference with Spain: +6 hours (At 4 p.m. in Shanghai it is 10 a.m. in Madrid –same day-) - Sr. Castro´s cell phone in Spain: (+34) (24 hours) - Ms. Celia Shi´s cell phone in Spain: (+34) (24 hours) In section 2 of this document you have the phone numbers of the hostel/hostels where we will stay each night, and in section 3 the phone numbers in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The English level of the host families varies from 0 to high level. I wrote the hosts´ telephone numbers in case you need to contact your son or daughter urgently. Please don´t use those phones unless it is a real emergency. You could always call Sr. Castro or Ms. Shi in the phones indicated above. Telephones in China: - Sr. Castro´s cell phone in China: - Mr. Ed Kidd (HS Principal): - Mr. Michael Sheehan (HS Assistant Principal): - Mr. Alan Knobloch (Assistant Superintendent): E-mail addresses:


- Sr. Castro´s e-mail addresses: -Ms. Shi´s e-mail address: 5.- SWEATERS

As it is a tradition with some school events (Habitat, Relay for Life, sports, …) we will also have our own trip sweaters.

Thanks to the students who sent designs. Jocelyn Hung´s design was the one who received more votes. The winner design is the one that you can see in the first page of this document.

6.- TRIP PREPARATION

Weather

Spain = Sun

Well, that is what many people think (Spain = Sun) but it is not totally true. The weather in Spain in the summer is definitely beautiful, and that´s one of the reasons why this country receives a lot of visitor. But during this time of the year, the weather can be very unpredictable. And we will be in the north. Keep that in mind when you pack.

What to TAKE:

This is a list of suggestions:

LUGGAGE

- Suitcase or large backpack: The one you will take on the plane. Remember, not more that 20 kg., you are not moving to Spain forever!

- Small backpack.

SHOES - Walking shoes: Bring comfortable shoes, as we will walk a lot. One of the days we are going hiking, but it is an easy –and beautiful- one. If you have trekking shoes good, otherwise tennis shoes would be totally fine. For some students flip-flops are OK for school. They are NOT OK for walking in Madrid or any of the cities, so please don´t leave you room in flip-flops when we are going out. - Sneakers or Not-walking shoes: At the end of the day you could take a shower and change into more comfortable shoes.


- Flip-flops or shower shoes for the shower. CLOTHES - Rainproof nylon jacket or all weather jacket or poncho: Spain can provide downpours at any time of year. Take something for the rain that you can easily fold in your small backpack and take out if it starts raining. - Warm clothes. Weather in Madrid is like in Shanghai. In the north of Spain a little bit colder. In Shanghai right now anything could happen, a very nice day or a cold day. The same in Spain, so be ready. Apart of regular things that you would take on a trip, make sure to: - Bring a towel (don´t forget) - Bath suit. One of the days we will go kayacking. - Toothpaste, toothbrush, etc. MISCELLANEOUS - Plastic bags for dirty laundry - Medication if you need any - Pens and writing materials - Small Spanish/English pocket dictionary - Digital camera and battery charger. In Spain the plugs are two round pins. Bring a power adapter plug is you need one

Please note that all SAS rules apply for this trip and this means dress code also. By virtue of travelling as a group we are representing our school abroad and therefore project a school image to anyone who meets us – tour guides, hotel personnel...

Label your suitcase with your name and your home address and we will attach colored yarn to all suitcases so that we can spot them easily as a group. We will do this at the airport.

7.- ELECTRONICS

LAPTOP COMPUTERS

We don´t encourage you to bring your laptop. It is true that it can become useful in the plane, in the hotel in Madrid or in the long bus rides. But it may also be very inconvenient to have to take care of it.

Apart of on the plane or on the bus, you will not have much time to use it. And this trip is a great opportunity to socialize in the real world and not in the virtual world. Some homes in Vitoria-Gasteiz will have wi-fi, but some others will not.


Parents, please talk about this with your kids. Some of you may want to hear from your sons/daughters. In that case, please give us a call to the phone numbers indicated in point 4 and we will pass the phone to the student or indicate you a good time to call.

MP3, OTHERS

If you bring any electronic gadgets you are totally responsible for safeguarding it and you will agree to good etiquette in using it. Please respect the chaperones when they ask you to disconnect in order to participate fully in trip activities. Please be aware that we will not turn the bus around to return to the hotel or restaurant because you forgot your MP3 player there. If you bring one be supremely responsible.

8.- POCKET MONEY

Except for lunch at the airport the last day, EVERYTHING is covered, so students don´t need to pay for anything extra. Depending on your budget and souvenir shopping you may want to bring around 100-150 USD or equivalent in RMB. We will change the money into Euros at Pudong Aiport (if you carry RMB) or at Madrid Airport (if you carry dollars).

ATM cards with an international link up (Cirrus, Plus, Maestro, Visa) can also be used.

Lunch the last day is not included because we will leave the hotel at 12:30, too early in Spain to have lunch. Last year the hotel prepared a pic-nic lunch but we were not able to pass customs with water and food, and students preferred to go to fast food restaurants than rushing to eat the pic-nic lunch. So this year students will pay for their last meal at the airport.

EMERGENCY MONEY Parents, please don´t consider giving your kids more than the pocket money in case of emergency. Everything is covered, and in case of emergency the chaperones could pay for the emergency and get a refund later. It is better that the kids enjoy the trip without having the responsibility of carrying a lot of money.

9.- PASSPORTS + SAFETY

Passports and other travel documents –as taibaozheng- will be kept by the chaperones during the whole trip, to avoid the risk of getting lost. Students shouldn´t have very valuable items with them. In Madrid there are pickpocketers in tourist areas. Nothing to worry about if you are careful, but it could be a problem if you have a lot of money on you and you don´t pay attention. Pickpocketers don´t use violence, you don’t have to worry about that at all, Madrid is very safe. But they are very smart and they can take your belongings without you even realizing. So please don´t put yourself on that situation.


Parents, the chaperones will talk about this with students before the trip. But please remind them to be careful with their things.

10.- INSURANCE

It is included in the price of the trip and information was sent to families. Also students could download the information about coverage from Moodle.

11.- FINAL LIST OF STUDENTS GOING ON THE TRIP

11 girls / 5 boys Estudiante Gr. Clase 1 Carolyn 9 F Chinese 2 Casey 9 F Chinese 3 Kelley 9 F Spanish I 4 Xin Sui 9 F Spanish I 5 Max 9 M Spanish II 6 Jeremy 9 M Spanish II 7 Monica 10 F Chinese 8 Colin 10 M IB Spanish B 9 Eva 10 F Spanish II 10 Yi Ying 10 F Spanish II 11 Charlie 10 M Spanish II 12 Monica 10 F Spanish III 13 Jocelyn 10 F Spanish III 14 Chloe 10 F Spanish III 15 Karson 10 M Spanish III 16 Stephanie 11 F IB Spanish B 11.- ITINERARY Wednesday March 28 : Flight Shanghai-Dubai-Madrid (departure at 23:30) Thursday March 29 : Madrid (arrival at 13:45) Friday March 30 : Madrid – Vitoria-Gasteiz Saturday March 31 : Vitoria-Gasteiz Sunday April 1 : Vitoria-Gasteiz Monday April 2 : Vitoria-Gasteiz – San Sebastian Tuesday April 3 : San Sebastian – Bilbao – Quintana Martín Galíndez Wednesday April 4 : Quintana Martín Galíndez Thursday April 5 : Quintana Martín Galíndez Friday April 6 : Quintana Martín Galíndez – Balmaseda – Lerma - Madrid Saturday April 7 : Flight Madrid-Dubai-Shanghai (departure at 15:25) Sunday April 8 : Shanghai (arrival at 15:30) In the first document sent about the trip you have more detailed information –see Moodle-. In our next meeting I will give you a more detailed document about our itinerary. 9 days to fly today!

Trip to Spain 2012 - Pre-trip document

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